For several years awareness has been building of the potential of the public sector to improve a nation’s influence on sustainability, nutrition and the economy. In particular, those involved in the production, procurement, distribution and delivery of meals in the public sector – to schools, care homes, hospitals and prisons – have examined ways in which shared policies and strategies could help drive government commitments to reduce waste, tackle obesity and malnutrition, support local producers and encourage healthy eating. The combined influence and purchasing power of the sector offers a vital opportunity to shift outcomes across a range of targets. EU directives on sustainability and Green Procurement have helped nudge contracting authorities to engage more small firms, social enterprises and employers of disadvantaged groups as suppliers. Nevertheless, budgeting and timescale pressures on public procurement and catering professionals can undermine their intentions to work sustainably, source locally and meet nutrition guidelines. Competing priorities make it challenging to balance all the demands of a contract. To help practitioners gain a tighter grip on these priorities, building in simple practices that offer the greatest positive impact, research teams in five countries working on the European Union Horizon 2020 project ‘Strength2Food’ undertook an in-depth investigation of ten primary school meals services, examining their food procurement and catering activities and measuring their sustainability outcomes. Although modelled on schools catering, the findings reveal good practice models for all those involved in the commissioning, production, procurement and delivery of public sector meals which offer the greatest opportunity to positively impact customer nutrition, local economy and enduring sustainability within the service.
1/1
Strength2Food
Strengthening European Food Chain Sustainability by Quality and Procurement Policy
This case study is drafting new legislation that allows renting forestland for multiple purposes in order to increase economic efficiency and maintain a balance between all ecosystem services. This Russian case works on regulation mechanisms so that people renting forestland can use it for multiple purposes, and to include ecosystem services in the Forest Code.
This factsheet explores how managing forests to be used as spiritual forests and forest kindergartens could benefit both the forest and the forest owner. The core impact of the case study is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural ecosystem services and to motivate forest actors to manage forests appropriately.
This innovation case is strengthening the link between forests and water with the overall aim of diversifying financing sources for forest management by integrating ecosystem service provision into the economic balance sheet. Work includes integration in the Urban Masterplan for the Rialb Reservoir where different local stakeholders (economic, tourism, water and others) are already working together. The aim is for written recognition in a legal document of the role of forestry in water and landscape conservation, and the recognition of forestry as a potentially relevant economic activity in the area that can be promoted along with tourism. The innovation action also works with the public Segre-Rialb Consortium to assess the suitability of a payment for ecosystem services scheme in relation to water in the area.